Automobile number-display device.



G. B. MULLEN.

AUTOMOBILE NUMBER DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 111111.17, 1914.

1,1 16,905. Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

A TTORNEYS GEORGE BARTON MULLEN, OF NEW YORK, N.v YK

AUTOMOBILE NUMBER-DISPLAY DEVICE.

ASpe'oicatiou. of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

Application led Iarch 17, 1914i. Serial No. 825,239.

T0 all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. MULLEN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, Whitestone,

5 borough of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Automobile Number- Display Device, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to license numbers for automobiles and othervehicles, and re-` lates more particularly to an illuminated device ofsuch design that it can be readily seen by day as ywell as by night.

The general objects of the present invention are to improve and simplifythe construction of illuminated signs of the license type so as to be'reliable and eilicient in use and comparatively inexpensive tomanufacture.

A further object of the invention is to' provide a novel means formounting the lamp at the end of a license box or case, whereby the lampmaybe readily adjusted'A for lighting, cleaning or inspection, the endof the casing .being provided with a slide or removable section which,when in position, locks the lamp in place, but which,

when removed ermits the lam to Vbe swung outwardly where 1t 1s readllaccessi-- Ihe removable sectlon or sllde at thev blc. end of the boxserves also to hold the glass front of the box andthe license plate inplace and prevents these parts from working out laterally from thegrooves arranged in the case to receive them. The lamp is of that typecommonly used on vehiclesk and the colorless lens is disposed within thebox so as to illuminate the same, while the usual tail light.

lVith such objects in view, and others which will appear as theydescription proceeds, the invention comprises various novel featuresofconstruction and 'arrangement of parts which will be set forth withparticularity in the following description and claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of theinvention, and wherein similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views, Figure l is a front elevation ofthe illuminated license box; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof with the lampshown in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section red lensfaces to the rear so as to serve as a of the box; and Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section of the box with the lamp in position.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the front of the license box,which front is provided with a rectangular opening 2 closed by a pane ofglass B Which is held in place by the u per and lower edges enteringgrooves 4 an of the front of the casing. In front of this 5 extendinglongitudinally glass -is a metal or other plate 6 which also lits in thesaid grooves, and this plate has suitable license characters 7 Icut outtherein like a stencil, so that ra s of light from within the bo`x canpass` ut through the characters 7. The surface 8 of the plate 6 ispainted or otherwise s; itably colored, a-nd immediately around thecharacters 7 are character outlines 9 which contrast in color from theground 8, so that the license characters can be readily seen by day.

The body of the box or casing includes a' bottom 10, a back 11, asloping corrugated top 12, a right end wall 13 and left end wall made intwo parts .14: and 14. This body maybe fastened in any suitable mannerto thejvehicle, as, for instance, `lby upper or lower lugs 15 and 1,6.The left wall ofthe box'has an opening 17 formed half in the,`

section 14 and half in the section 14:1 of the said wall, so as toreceive the lamp A which is mounted exterior to the body in such amanner that the rays of lilght passing through the front lens of thelamp will enter the box yand shine through the characters of thelicense. box is preferably bright so jas to better reiect the light,andif desired, a reflector 18 may be mounted in the box to reflect therearwardly directed rays from the lamp forbvardly through the-licensecharacters. On the endof the casing is a bracket or othersuitablesupport'l) with which a lug 20 on the lamp A engages, and thislamp swings on the end 2l of the bracket (Fig. el) l The section 1lvis'slidably mounted in the case and is normally held in place by a suit`able catch 22, Fig. 2, which, when released, enables the section 14 tobe removed forwardly from the case, and when so removed the lamp/can beswung outwardly from the box on the pivot 21 as a center, and when inthis position the lamp can be readily lighted, cleaned or inspected.When the slide 14a is removed, the license plate 6 and the glass 3 canbe taken out through a left end, Fig. 4, of the case, for enabling thesaid parts to be readily cleaned. It will thus be seen that the part 14aserves to retain the lamp in operative position and holds the licenseplate and glass front in place. It will be noted that the -side lens 23of the lamp serves as a tail signal, as this side lens is red and isdisposed so as to direct the rays ot iight rearwardly from the vehicle,and consequently the invention constitutes a combined illuminatedlicense and tail signal. y

From the, foregoing description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and method of'operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art toWhich the'inventio'n appertains, and while I have `desc-:ibed thedevicev Which I nonT consider to bg. the best embodiment thereof, Idesire to have ft understood that the device shown is merelyillustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as areWithin the scope of the appended claims.y

Having thus described my invention, I claim as nevi7 and desire tosecure by Letters Patent: 1.'A license number display device comprisinga box having an opening at its front and an opening in one end, guidesin the case adjacent the first-mentioned opening, a pane of glasscovering the first-mentioned opening and inserted in the guides, acharacter-hearing element disposed in the guides and overlying the paneof glass, a removable slide at the open end of the box which serves toretain the pane and element in place, and a lamp movablv mounted on theopen end of the box and engagedl by the said slide to hold the lamp insuch position that its ray-directing part directs rays of light into thebox through the end opening,

whereby the characters of the .said element are rendered visible, saidlamp having a red lens for providinga tail signal.

the said light-directing portion to retain the lamp in coperativerelatlon W1th the box to illuminate the interior thereof.

3. A license box having an opening at'one end, license characters at thefront of the box'and ladapted to be rendered visible by interiorillumination of the latter, a slide movably mounted on the open end ofthe box, a lamp mounted outside the box and having a light-directingportion arranged to extend into the open end of the box, means forholding the slide in contact with the said light-directing portion toretain the lamp' in coperative relation with the box to illuminate theinterior thereof, a bracket on the open end of the box, and a pivotalconnection between the lamp and bracket, said lamp having ared lenslocated exteriorly of the box to serve as a tail light.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

GEORGE BARTON MULLEN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressiiigthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

